How it might look in 2020: O's outfield

Over the next few weeks, let's take a look at some aspects of the Orioles and how they were shaping up at the time that spring training was halted. Today, a look at the outfield.

Earlier, I made my projection for the five-man rotation in this entry and an infield with a roster of seven in this entry.

While we may see rosters larger than 26 players when baseball does start this year, we are going with a roster of 26 for this exercise.

So with five in the rotation and eight in the bullpen (projected in a future entry), I've gone with seven infielders, four outfielders and two catchers.

Here are my four opening day outfielders:

* Anthony Santander is coming back after 2019 with a starting spot, likely in left field. Last year, he made 32 starts in left field, 20 in center and 37 in right. He led the team with five outfield assists. Santander got our attention mostly with his bat, which at times looked like it could be a future middle-of-the-order fixture in Baltimore.

It's probably too soon to project that, but in early September, he was batting .292 with an OPS of .854. Santander faded down the stretch and ended the year 1-for-23 as he dealt with right labrum inflammation. Over 93 games and 405 plate appearances, he batted .261/.297/.476 with 20 doubles, 20 homers and 59 RBIs.

* Austin Hays is ready to begin the year as the center fielder. Hays had a strong spring in 2019, but then thumb and hamstring injuries limited him to 87 games on the farm and his stats were mediocre. He turned all of that around with a stunning September with the Orioles.

Over 75 plate appearances, he hit .309/.373/.574 with six doubles, four homers, two steals, 12 runs and 13 RBIs. He showed five tools, including strong defense.

"It was surreal for me," Hays said of his strong September. "I think every player starts to build a little bit of doubt when you haven't had the at-bats and you've gone backwards in levels. You can lose your confidence a little bit. For me, to put together a healthy second half and play almost every game and then get the opportunity in September and play as well as I did, it meant a lot to me. It just got my mind back to where it was in 2017."

In 2017, he was one of the best players in all of minor league baseball. O's fans can dream that a healthy Hays can reach his ceiling and be a first-division regular center fielder for years.

* I'll put Trey Mancini in right field for now, even though we don't yet know when Mancini can return to the field. We don't know when anyone can for that matter.

On March 12, the Orioles announced that Mancini had successful surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his colon. A week later, O's exec Mike Elias said that Mancini was out of the hospital and doing very well.

When he can return, he is obviously the right fielder after a Most Valuable Oriole year when he hit .291/.364/.535 with 38 doubles, 35 homers and 97 RBIs. He was the 10th player in O's history with 30 doubles and homers and 100 runs scored. He joined Eddie Murrray (three times), Adam Jones (two times), Manny Machado (two times), Chris Davis (two times), Albert Belle, Brady Anderson, Frank Robinson, Miguel Tejada and Rafael Palmeiro.

When he's ready, right field is his. A few questions remain about Mancini, including whether the Orioles sign him long-term. Can he be as productive as he was last year and is that going to become a normal season for him?

* As the fourth outfielder, I've got Mason Williams. A non-roster spring invitee, he got a call-up last year at the end of the season and the Orioles joined the Yankees and Reds as major league teams he's played for. Williams was having a solid spring camp and can play all three outfield spots. He brings a little speed. In 2019, he had a strong Triple-A year for Norfolk, batting .308/.371/.477 for an OPS of .848 in 121 games.

If this is the four-man outfield roster makeup for the team, it leaves out DJ Stewart and Dwight Smith Jr. Both can be optioned to the minors, but Williams is out of options, a factor that could be a tiebreaker in his favor to make the roster. Either Stewart or Smith could also replace Mancini on the roster if they start to play games before Mancini can return to the diamond.

By the way, on a more serious note, I write these stories and sometimes think about how meaningless they are considering world events and everyone trying to stay safe from this virus. Yes, that dwarfs everything. Then I remind myself that none us could or should spend 24/7 in a worried and/or concerned state. We have to do the right thing for ourselves, our neighbors, our families and our world. But we also have to take time to let our brains digest something else for a few minutes. Hopefully, debating who should start in left field for the Orioles this year, while not important compared to life and death matters, gives us something important in another way.

On the subject of outfielders: Al Kaline was a great one. From Southern High School in Baltimore to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Albert William Kaline was born on Dec. 19, 1934 in Baltimore. He died yesterday at 85 after a full life and remarkable career. He never played a day in the minors and at 20 became the youngest ever in major league history to win a battle title. Click here for more on his career. He picked up his 3,000th career hit off the Orioles' Dave McNally at Memorial Stadium. Fitting, indeed.

9/24/74 - Tigers DH Al Kaline collects career hit no. 3000, a double to right off Baltimore pitcher Dave McNally. Tigers broadcaster Paul Carey on the call.#MLB #baseball #Detroit #Tigers #Michigan #sports #History @blessyouboys @freep #RIPMrTiger @wjrradio #Baltimore #Orioles pic.twitter.com/YUFdPLAdG8

-- Classic MLB vids (@classicMLBvids) April 6, 2020